
Although personal checks have become less popular due to credit cards and checking cards, they are still frequently used, particularly when paying rent or utilities and other bills, or for establishing an easy-to-follow paper trail. You can also use personal checks to withdraw funds from your own bank account if you don't have other options, and you can cash a check made out to yourself at various check cashing centers. Writing a check to yourself is very similar to writing a check to anyone else.
Write the current date in the top right-hand corner where the date line is located.
On the long line preceded by the word "Pay to the Order Of," write your legal name.
On the line below it, write out in words the dollar value you would like to cash the check for. The format you should use is "blank dollars and blank cents."
In the box to the right of the "Pay to the Order Of" and cash amount lines, write the cash amount as a numerical value.
On the "Memo" line in the lower left-hand corner, write the reason for the check, whether it is for cash or other purposes. This makes it easier to remember why the check was written and cashed.
Sign the check on the signature line.
Endorse the check on the back of the check with your signature.
Tips
You will need your driver's license or other government-issued identification to cash the check.
References
- MSU Federal Credit Union: How to Write a Check
- National Credit Union Administration. "Understanding a Check and Balancing a Checkbook." Accessed June 4, 2020.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "I Received a Check Where the Words and the Numbers for the Amount Are Different." Accessed June 4, 2020.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "Can a Bank or Credit Union Cash a Post-Dated Check Before the Date on the Check?" Accessed June 4, 2020.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "My Bank/Credit Union Cashed a Post-Dated Check Even Though I Told Them About the Post-Dated Check Before They Received It." Accessed June 4, 2020.
- Department of the Treasury. "U.S. Treasury Check Security Features." Accessed June 4, 2020.
- Federal Reserve Consumer Help. "Can a Bank Refuse to Cash My Check?" Accessed June 4, 2020.
- Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. "Check Fraud / Counterfeit Checks." Accessed June 4, 2020.
- American Bankers Association. "ABA Routing Number." Accessed June 4, 2020.
Writer Bio
Jonathan Croswell has spent more than five years writing and editing for a number of newspapers and online publications, including the "Omaha World-Herald" and "New York Newsday." Croswell received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Nebraska and is currently pursuing a Master's of Health and Exercise Science at Portland State University.